Case Study

Environmental Educator

Rachel Smart-Knight of Plan-It Earth
Information about Rachel Smart-Knight
Name Rachel Smart-Knight
Location Cornwall
Company Plan-It Earth

"The challenges of climate change are terrifying; it's easy to feel overwhelmed and that, as individuals, we can’t make a difference.  My job shows people that they can, and how.
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Rachel Smart-Knight

Overview

I’m Rachel Smart-Knight.  Together with my husband, I run a smallholding and community education organisation called Plan-It Earth.  We run a series of projects and educational programmes that aim to help people learn new skills towards sustainable development.
After I graduated, I worked for Channel 4 news.  I met some really interesting people who were doing what I wanted to do, and after a while I fancied a change - I wanted to live according to my values.  I’d never done anything like this before, but I’ve always had a passion to live in a self-sufficient and sustainable way.
I get to work with some really interesting people.  I love being outside, and I know that the project we’ve created has inspired others.

Tell us about your job – where do you work and what do you do?

I run an organisation that focuses on education for sustainable development.  We run education courses from our smallholding in west Cornwall.  Our workshops aim to teach people about renewable energy, permaculture, sustainable development, and traditional skills that help people to lower the environmental impact of their lives or businesses. When traditional sources of fuel run out, we will have trained people in how to use the landscape for their own livelihoods.

What inspired you to do what you do?  How did you get into it, did you have a plan?

I’ve always had a passion for the environment, and always wanted to create a home that was self-sufficient and sustainable.  On moving to Cornwall, my partner and I bought a smallholding, which we’ve developed using permaculture principles.  We wanted to share all that we’d learned, and also to offer opportunities to learn other traditional skills / husbandry that can help individuals to live and work in more sustainable ways.

Why is your job meaningful?  Both to you personally, and in how it benefits the wider world in terms of climate change and other environmental challenges.

My job is really meaningful to me; the challenges of climate change are terrifying, and it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and that as an individual we can’t make a difference.  What we do is show people that they can, and how.  We offer courses that help people to learn skills for them to be part of the solution.  It is possible to live in more sustainable and simple ways, but we need to educate ourselves about different things in order to cope with the changes we may face.
The courses and educational programmes that we run help people to learn about renewable energy, local food growth, herbal medicine, coppicing / woodland management, bushcraft and wild food foraging, as well as animal husbandry and how to develop a community smallholding.

Many jobs in this sector are very new, how long has your job existed?

We moved to Cornwall 10 years ago and gradually developed the smallholding, then came the education programme.  There was nothing like it at the time, but now we're showing other people how to do it.

What personal qualities do you think have got you where you are today?

It took a lot of hard work and determination to get things going here.  It’s also important to stay positive and be able to juggle lots of things - work, family, new business, new funding applications, as well as putting together and running the courses.

What are the essential skills for your job?

Good communication skills are essential.  If you’re doing something to help people learn new skills, it’s important to know how to do it yourself and make it accessible for others to learn.  It’s important to be able to get along with, and work with, all kinds of people - from young children through to business leaders.  It’s also important to know the field you’re working in - we have a wide range of knowledge and contacts in the field of traditional skills, the transition movement, and sustainable community development.

What qualifications do you have? Are these typical for people in your role?

I got a number of GSCEs, then went to the London School of Printing to study Journalism.  After that, I did a degree in Broadcast Journalism.
Experience and enthusiasm very much got me into what I do now - I'm passionate about the importance of developing the skill set of people so that, in the future, our communities can be more sustainable and self-sufficient.  Today there are lots of courses in this area - but experience, volunteering, and reading around your subject are just as important.

What do you think most helped you get where you are now?

I cut my teeth in the broadcast industry.  As a journalist, I wanted to highlight the problems of and solutions to the challenges of climate change, and the environmental movement.  After a while I thought to myself, actually I should become part of the change rather than just report on it, so I moved to Cornwall.  The experience of developing our smallholding gave me the inspiration and knowledge to share what we’d learned, and to create a centre where we can run workshops involving other people who share our passions.

Please describe a typical working day

I get up, get my children fed and ready for school, then I might spend a couple of hours working on the smallholding – feeding the animals, harvesting produce, preparing soil, or greeting people who have come to stay in one of our yurts (a yurt is a special kind of semi-permanent tent).  Then I might have a school workshop to run, or we may have visits from people who have come to see what we’re up to.  Finally, I might catch up on the admin, or look for new funding opportunities, or do the accounts.  No day is the same!
It’s non-stop when you’re self sufficient, as there’s always something to do.  I guess we do work long hours, and when we’re running the courses we work weekends too, but it’s very enjoyable and has become a way of life.

What do you enjoy most and least about what you do?

I love being outside and I love working with different people, sharing in their delight as they get back to the basic principles of living off, and with, the land.  The work that we do helps to sew a seed of change inside the people we meet - they leave feeling inspired to make a difference and live closer to the land, and they can take what they’ve learned back into their community.
Funding and financing what we do is the most difficult part.  Keeping the smallholding going is a full-time project.  On top of that, we run our workshops and educational programmes, as well as developing projects, and researching opportunities that exist for funding.

What kind of people do you meet through your work or do you work alone?

I meet other specialists who come and run courses at our centre.  We have really interesting guests staying in our yurts and, through our workshops or schools projects, we get to meet all kinds of people.

Do you feel well paid for what you do, or is it not about the money?

We get by.  This is not about the money; it’s about becoming self-sufficient - what I do is not about the money at all.  Recently, we’ve started our own eco-holidays, where people can come to the farm, stay in a yurt and live very simply.  That side of things has helped meet the bills, but money is tight.

Finally, what do you know now about jobs, careers and the future that you wish you’d known when you were at school?

That the qualifications you take don’t need to define you.  You can live the life you want, if you are prepared to take the risk and go for it.

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